Nashville Will Sing Its Last Song in Season 6

Nashville's upcoming sixth season will be its last, CMT announced Friday.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nashville has served its purpose in bringing new viewers to country music network CMT, but producers have decided that creatively and financially it's time to bring the series to a close.

"All of us on Nashville are so incredibly grateful to the show's fans, who convinced CMT to give us a chance to keep telling the story of these remarkable characters," executive producer Marhall Herskovitz said in a statement. "And we want to return the favor with a final season that celebrates all the joys and passions, twists and turns -- and amazing music! -- that made Nashville such an exciting journey for the last six years."

Nashville was canceled after four seasons on ABC, but then CMT gave it a second chance. Season 5 premiered on CMT earlier this year, and star Connie Britton departed the series after only a handful of episodes on the new network. The show has performed well for CMT, but it's down considerably in viewership from its time on ABC. The show is produced by ABC Studios and Lionsgate Television, and CMT's parent company Viacom doesn't have a financial stake in the show.

Season 6 of the country music drama will find Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) dealing with the repercussions of admitting she stole Maddie's (Lennon Stella) song. Meanwhile, the future of the late Rayna James' (Britton) record label, Highway 65, is up in the air.

Nashville Season 6 premieres Thursday, Jan. 4 on CMT. The 16-episode season will be split in two, with the now series finale airing in the summer.